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Saturday, 5 April 2008

Mixed Berries Yoghurt Bread

After reading about KWF's Yoghurt Bread, I couldn't wait to try it. In fact, I have earlier planned to make a yogurt bread base on a recipe from a cookbook. However, I decided to try her recipe first as her lovely buns are just too good to give it a miss!

Instead of shaping the bread into buns, I made it into a loaf...for the sole reason that my younger boy has recently developed this love of spreading half kaya and half butter on a slice of bread. He has since demanded for a square bread every morning, for the past 2 months...and he would rather have just milk with honey stars if there is no square bread on the breakfast table.

A couple of weeks ago, I chanced upon a range of Gold Harvest flour on promotion at the local supermarket. The discounted price was almost the same as the usual bread flour I used. I grabbed one pack of the Harvest King Better for Bread Flourwithout any further hesitation, even though I had to lug the 5lb (2.2kg) flour, on top of the other stuff I bought, all the way home...on public transport. It was only after making a few other loaves before I got the chance to use this brand of flour for this loaf.

I used my breadmaker to knead the dough for a total of 30mins. Just after the first 15mins of kneading, I could hear the dough banging loudly in the bread pan. This meant that the dough was already smooth and no longer stick to the pan. I stopped the machine after the 20mins of kneading cycle had completed...re-start and let it knead for a further 10mins. Even though the dough didn't exactly passed the pane or stretch test, I removed it from the pan, shaped it into a smooth dough and let it rise in room temperature. Within an hour or so, the dough had doubled in size. I divided it into 3 equal portion, shaped and rolled into 3 smaller doughs and let them proof for the second time in a pullman tin. The second proofing took a little longer...it was way pass 1.5hrs before the dough rise up close to the rim. I baked the bread at 180degC for 30-35mins.

I have used Meiji's mixed berries yoghurt for this bread. As the yoghurt was purplish(it has got strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in it)...the dough became an odd colour during the mixing. I added in a tiny drop of pink food colouring, just to make sure that the bread would not turned into some strange colour. The result was a pretty pink bread :)

The bread was a great success. Look at how soft and cottony the texture was?! Besides the yoghurt, I wonder whether the Harvest King flour had a major role in contributing to the nice texture of the bread??

Although the fragrance from the yoghurt was quite prominent in the bread, taste wise, it was a little plain on it's own, probably due to the small amount of sugar used. It didn't has the 'chew' (嚼劲) as compared to the Hokkaido Milk Loaf (which I baked just two days before this loaf, so I was able to remember its texture). Nevertheless, it went well with my raspberry jam. The bread stayed soft for two days...and as suggested by my friend VB, I kept one slice up to the third day...it was just a little on the dry side. This recipe is certainly a keeper...I will make this whenever I can find a tub of yoghurt in my fridge :D

I managed to borrow this book from the library over the weekend. I really liked the cute toast photo on the cover, and couldn't help but made a copycat version ;p

Here's sharing with you what is mentioned in this book...regarding how to choose a good loaf of sandwich bread. Basically there are 4 factors to look out for:

1. The finished loaf should have a nice even square shape, and the crust should be nice golden brown. The holes on the crumbs should be evenly distributed...and they should not be too big or too small, this implies that the bread has undergone a proper proofing process.

2. The bread should emit just a mere hint of fragrance from the wheat, it should not give a yeasty odor or sour flavour (unless it you are making a sourdough bread).

3. The inside (crumb) should be soft, tender and would spring back when lightly pressed.

4. A tasty sandwich bread should have a light chew to it. It should taste soft and yet a little moist, and not dry. When chewed, it should not form into a lump, giving a doughy texture and taste. In addition, the bread can be shredded/torn into long stripes easily...evidence of a well kneaded dough.

So, did your homemade bread pass all these criteria? Mine certainly has got lots of room for improvement :)

Hi, I have tried your Crunchy Peanut Butter loaf and my family love it very much. May I know where you bought the 'Harvest King' bread flour. As I have bought a breadmaker and also trying to master the skill of bread making.

Hi Li Ying, I bought the Harvest King bread flour at NTUC (Toa Payoh, the one opposite the swimming complex, not the one at HDB Hub). You can also get it from Cold Storage, but don't think there is any promotion.

Hi HHB, I tried using my new pullman pan tonight. Do I have to wait till the dough raises to the brim before baking? Also, is it a must, to divide the dough into 3 parts and rolled? I'm planning to try again tomorrow.

hi HHBhave been admiring your soft fluffy bread - they look perfect! i've been experimenting with bread too since i just got my BM. the bread is great when its just baked, warm & fluffy but the next day it turned dry & hard. any idea why? i've been trying to get a square pullman tin too but seems to be out of stock at sunlik. PH's one isnt square :(

Hi Amandalwh,I must 1st thank you for your kind words :)On 2nd thots, I should have wrote in this post how I like my bread...when I was young ;) I like to spread with Planta margarine and sprinkle with lots of sugar! or another choice is to spread it with "Ang Zee Gu Ni", ie condensed milk! I'll probably write more on this in the 3rd post starting from this one, lolz ;)

Hi Xan, I got my pullman tin from PH :( Yes, it is not straight.You can try storing your bread in an air-tight container, this will help to keep it from getting dry. and if you are using the breadmaker to make the bread, you may want to toast them before serving, it will taste better. I just bought a Lock & Lock container, which is designed for keep a loaf of bread :)

Aimei, I will be checking on your blog for this bread :p

SSB, I have never tried nutella with cheese! You sure it's good?! I should get my boy to try, hehehe!

Yuri, I cover the pan with a cling wrap during the 2nd proofing so that I can check on the status, and decide when to start pre-heating my oven. Once I start to turn on my oven, I will put the lid on. Hope this helps :)

I realli look all your bread making posts, and I must said this pinky bread really look great... so soft and fluffy.... em..if i used hand knead for this do you think i will have the end result like yours.. cos i don't hav a bread making m/c :(

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Hi Ellena, you can certainly knead the dough by hand...actually kneading by hand will give you a better result then a bread maker, but you will need lots of arm power :)

Hi Xan, it's not the one on your link. Mine it's this, HPL829(http://us.locknlock.com/productDetail.asp?productNumber=75)...around $13-14. There is another smaller one (not as tall) like this (http://us.locknlock.com/productDetail.asp?productNumber=66). Actually I will like to get this smaller one, not so tall. The product no is printed on the bottom of the box. You can get them at NTUC Carrefour, or OG, John Little.

Hey HHB and xan, another lobang for you. I bought a box big enough for one loaf at Daiso (IMM), cheap cheap $2. Not sure if it is air-tight but it does help to keep my bread erm, nice ... I would normally toast home-baked fresh before eating.

lovely pink bread thr! :)am here to ask you sth agn..for baking brownies, when we mix the ingredients, is it better to mix til totally smooth, or is it like muffins, whr it is not advisable to "over-mix" so tt it remains sorta lumpy?

That looks YUMMY! I came across your blog just days ago and can't tell you how much I'm loving it!!! SOOOOOOO many great recipes to try . . . . soooooo little time!! Your treats looks (and I'm sure taste as well) "to die for" and the pictures are just great. I'll be checking your blog daily to get some great treat ideas! You should also consider doing photography as well . . . cuz' the pictures looks professionally done!

Yuri, thanks for the info, I will check it out when I next visit Daiso :)

Hi Shine, from my past experience with brownies, most of the time, you will have to mix the batter until smooth, it shouldn't be lumpy as muffins. I don't think you have to worry about over-mixing it. Hope this helps :)

Hi Sandra, thanks for visiting! I look forward to hearing more from you :) You are too kind, my photos are far from good, there's still lots of room for improvement!

Hi Pansuki, I got my pullman tin from Phoon Huat, however, I read that those selling at Sun Lik is of better quality. I was just told by another reader that she got her's from Sun Lik, so I would suggest u get it from there.Most of the recipes I tried here are meant for soft bread, the dough are farily sticky and wet, as such I usually let the machine need for an extra 10mins or so. So after proofing, it would be less sticky. You can try dust the work surface with flour to prevent sticking, but try not to use too much. Hope this helps.

Hi, I love your pink yoghurt bread! Looks so sweet. May I know what are the dimensions of your pullman tin that you used to bake this bread in? I recently went to sunlik, but they only have the longish one and I was wondering for the longest time how do I shape my bread to be like the one in your photo.. and then I realised that yours is a square pullman tin! *silly me*

Hi Ling, mine is the smaller pullman tin (half the length of the one you saw). Just over the weekend, I went to Sun Lik too. I saw the smaller pullman tins (rack beside the fridge), size is about 7" x 4" x 4" and I bought one for $9.50 :)

Yayy! You got new toy! I love it when i get new baking accesories.. Yeah, i was there early this week, and i bought the longer one, they don't have it in perfect square, it's tapered, only the smaller one is squarish. Anyway, i bought the bigger one, and went home and realised the cover is so hard to slide...